
Public Domain
Fatty's Magic Pants
1914 · Keystone Film Company · Dir. Roscoe Arbuckle
'Fatty' is looking forward to attending a formal occasion. But in order to go, he has to be properly dressed, and he encounters unexpected difficulties in getting himself ready.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Fatty's Magic Pants (also known as Fatty's Suitless Day) is a short comedy film starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. It was produced by the Keystone Film Company and released on December 4, 1914.
Under current United States copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This applies regardless of whether the copyright was renewed, as the maximum possible term for works of this vintage (95 years from publication) has expired. As a 1914 release, the film's copyright expired no later than 1990 (under the 75-year rule for works for hire established by the 1976 Act) and remained in the public domain under the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which only extended protection for works still under copyright as of its effective date.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1911-1920)
- Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- U.S. Copyright Office - Circular 15a: Duration of Copyright
- Silent Era (silentera.com)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.